Having a sound body is having a sound mind. We as educators must be in optimum health not only for ourselves but also for our children and for our students as well. One of the characteristics a teacher must possess is good health so that he can always do his duties as a teacher.
Being a parent to our children, we must have an extra energy to attend their needs at home. And we must always have a reserved energy to perform duties in church we belong and extend our hands to our community.
What power do we need to do all these things? Well, a secret will finally be revealed. Are you ready to know about it? Yes, it is just a matter of eating the right food. And what is it? A vegetarian food.
We all know that our first parents, Adam and Eve ate fruits and vegetables and we can say that it is the original diet given by God. Those fruits and vegetables made them lived longer. Based from The Origin Diet, written by Elizabeth Somer M.A.,R.D, hundreds of studies on archeology and anthropology went into a research and decipher this information in light of today’s nutritional needs and lifestyles, and glean the best research that would give the most thorough and accurate account of what our bodies need, both in light of evolution as well as in today’s modern world. What I learned was: when we eat and move in balance with the way our bodies evolved, we do much more than just avoid diseases. We achieve a level of health and vitality that many of us have never before experienced. That level of health is not only possible, it’s embedded in our cells. It’s our inherent biological right.
The rewards are worth it. Go back to the original diet and it is guaranteed that you will feel better and experience significant improvements in how you feel, think and live within weeks. This is much more than a hope. It is promised that you will reduce your risk for all major age-related diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis, cataracts and even depression which among educators suffering from. You will think more clearly, including having better memory throughout life of teaching. You will stack the deck in favor of living longer and spending those extra years healthier especially when you retire. You will lose weight and keep the weight off. (Sometimes this is the result of the nature of our work…we do not have time to exercise and yet we eat too much which is the only reward we can do to ourselves for so many task at hand.) You will have more energy, and get extra time to work at home and do extra job to add compensation for the family’s extra needs. It only means that you will enjoy life more!
You are what you eat. You have heard that a million times. Have you realized what our students eat nowadays? Can’t we realize that the food we are serving to them is one of the factors that affects how they perform and interact in the school? If we only prepare our children to practice vegetarianism, they will benefit as well. If we want our children be tall, lean, and strong and smart teach our children to eat fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables. Let them stay healthy so that they will perform well in school.
The National Health Education Standards supports program in promoting lifelong healthy eating and mentioned effects of healthy diet on health, growth and intellectual development of young person.
1. Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.
2. Students will be able to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.
3. Students will be able to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.
4. Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology, and other factors on health.
5. Students will be able to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health.
6. Students will be able to use goal-setting and decision-making skills to enhance health.
7. Students will be able to advocate for personal, family, and community health.
School-based nutrition education can improve dietary practices that affect young persons’ health, growth, and intellectual development. Immediate effects of unhealthy eating patterns include under nutrition, iron deficiency anemia, and overweight and obesity.
So, let us start today with pieces of fruits and cup of vegetable on our table. Teach our children to eat more fruits and vegetables and tell them the benefits of eating these foods—a fuel needed by our body to function well, and gives substance to boost learning thus to attain the goal of functional education.
By: Mrs. Jennifer B. Mangalindan | Teacher I | Morong National High Shool – Mabayo, Annex | Morong, Bataan
